Fires Versus Steel Buildings

The official explanation that fires caused the collapse of Building 7 is incredible in light of the fact that fires have never caused a steel-framed building to totally collapse, before or after September 11th, 2001.

Steel-framed high rises (buildings of fifteen stories or more) have been widespread for over 100 years. There have been hundreds of incidents involving severe fires in such buildings, and none has led to complete collapse, or even partial collapse, of support columns.

Recent examples of high rise fires include the 1991 One Meridian Plaza fire in Philadelphia, which raged for 18 hours and gutted 8 floors of the 38 floor building, and the 1988 First Interstate Bank Building fire in Los Angeles, which burned out of control for 3-1/2 hours and gutted 4 floors of the 64 floor tower. Both of these fires were far more severe than any fires seen in Building 7, but those buildings did not collapse. The Los Angeles fire was described as producing "no damage to the main structural members."

Research indicates that even if a steel frame building were subjected to an impossible super fire, hundreds of degrees hotter and far more extensive than any fire ever observed in a real building, it would still not collapse.

References
1. One Meridian Plaza, SGH.com
2. Interstate Bank Building Fire Los Angeles, California (May 4, 1988)
3. Fire Resistance of Steel Framed Car Parks, corusconstruction.com